CGD '03: Resident Evil Online

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You've seen the movie, now read the facts Jack.

By IGN Staff

Capcom formally announced a slew of gory facts on the subject of its upcoming online Resident Evil game, the most important of which is this: Resident Evil Online finally looks like it's become very scary again.

Officially dubbed Resident Evil Online for the North American market (not Network Resident Evil or Resident Evil Network), the PlayStation 2 exclusive title enables four players to join online (either broad or narrow band), and to play in a truly cooperative fashion. Using an undetermined server-client setup (Capcom is currently in discussions with Sega to possible use its SNAP technology), Capcom's Resident Evil Online puts players in the shoes of one of eight ordinary Raccoon city residents desperately trying to escape the Midwestern town before they too become victims of Umbrella's T-Virus outbreak.

Players are able to choose from eight characters, each with their own personality traits, looks, back stories and professions. They starring cast are Kevin, a police officer; George, a practicing doctor; Yoko, a Japanese woman "shrouded in mystery;" Mark, a Vietnam Vet who's a security officer; Cindy the waitress; David the plumber (an obvious homage to Mario...heh); Jim, the railway worker who's "good at solving puzzles;" and Alyssa, a capable reporter. A slice of American life, right?

The true fright of Resident Evil Online, however, becomes desperately clear when you see the first screenshot of hundreds of Raccoon city citizens transformed in zombies, plodding down the main street toward you. And you're not starring as Leon or Claire or anyone else as part of a STARS team, no sirree. You're an average citizen who must work with three other online strangers to figure your way out of town or at least die trying. The immense set of possibilities all of a sudden launches out in front of the imagination. What can you do? How do you get out?

Capcom is at work on these gameplay issues as we speak, some of which they have put into play, but many more of which they're testing, tweaking and working to perfection. The concrete stuff we know for sure is that players often start out alone, not within a group. In these cases, players must find their way toward the group, without any weapons, maps of knowledge of what to do. In your plight of escape, voices can be heard behind closed doors, encouraging players to find a way in, and hoping that a real, uninfected person is on the other side. In other cases, you might agree to meet with another player at a designated place and time, only to find they have not shown up. Do you search for them, hide, or simply wait? What if they are already zombies, or if they are trapped and need of your help? The endless scenarios play out perfectly in this suggestive online arena.

In your search for a one-way ticket out of town, players wind through the town's subway stations, hospital, restrooms, experiment rooms, forests, huts, tunnels, across bridges in front of huge waterfalls, through vine-covered laboratories, and through many more areas. During your search, zombies aren't the only enemies around. Human players that die lose their turn, and their characters return in zombie form, without the other players' knowledge. Other creatures show up too. Lickers, dogs, scorpions and a host of familiar creatures from past Resident Evil games appear along with entirely new enemies. To fend off these wretched, foul things, players can't just rely on their bare hands and a swift set of feet. In another twist in RE gameplay, they can pick up objects from the ground -- brooms, lead pipes, and random other stuff -- to fend for themselves. If they're lucky they find weapons.

Opponent and civilian AI plays a significant part in this new online experiment. RE NPCs respond in numerous ways to your actions. They can help you in a fight, or likewise, you can save an NPC from being attacked, they can assist you to a new location, too. Or they can transform into zombies in front of you and attack! Sometimes, though, they might see you approach an simply run away in fear, or react according to your own actions. Again, it seems like an endless set of scenarios, all of which are good.

The new outline for survival horror has been unveiled. Capcom's first Resident Evil online game promises to indulge in zombie mayhem but more importantly, to experiment with online gameplay like few if any games have done thus far. And we are waiting like drooling zombies for the first build to play this summer. Look for a litany of upcoming updates on this promising game in the future.

Resident Evil Online is a one- to four-player cooperative online adventure game requiring the Network Adaptor and an online connection. It ships in fall 2003.